September 12, 2008: 25 people died in a train collision in Los Angeles. Top Wall Street bankers and US government officials met in a panic to try to save Lehman Brothers, as the country began to tumble into the biggest financial crisis since the depression. David Foster Wallace committed suicide.
But on the brighter side of things, Notebook Stories was born that day. 10 years and almost 2000 blog posts later, I’m still at it! I’ve watched notebook trends come and go, from Filofaxes to Moleskines to Travelers Notebooks to Field Notes to Bullet Journals to the Hobonichi Techo. I have featured over 200 brands of notebooks from all over the world. I have celebrated over 360 Notebook Addicts. I’ve posted almost 3000 notebook photos on Flickr. I won’t even try to count how many notebooks I’ve bought, used, received as samples, reviewed, coveted from afar, and given away in that time. According to my personal finance software, I have spent about $6,000 on notebooks and pens in the last 10 years, which is kind of horrifying! But the pleasure I’ve gotten out of them is priceless!
And you, dear readers! You’ve left over 4800 comments. 3500 of you like my Facebook page. Over 4600 follow my Twitter feed. And my relatively new Instagram account already has almost 700 followers. You have shared your recommendations and tips and suggestions, and of course, your addictions to notebooks! It has been wonderful to discover that so many people share what I thought was a lonely passion. I thank you all.
In celebration of this milestone, I have a big giveaway today! I will pick 10 winners, each of whom will receive a notebook. I will pick a variety of random notebooks as prizes– some of them may have a page or two that has been used for pen tests, but other than that they will be new and useable. Feel free to use your entry to say what kind of notebook you would love to win!
Here’s how to enter:
–Leave a comment on my Facebook page containing the words “10th anniversary”
–On Twitter, tweet something containing “@NotebookStories 10th anniversary”
–Follow me on Instagram (@notebook.stories) and leave a comment on my 10th Anniversary post there.
–Leave a blog comment below
You can enter anytime before 11:59PM EST on September 30, 2018. Good luck everyone!
Congratulations! What an incredible milestone! I wish you many more creative and passionate years!
Anything not popular. I love trying the obscure!
Yay to 10 years! Here’s to many more years! I am on a constant quest to find the perfect professional notebook for work.
I’ve loved your blog since the early years. Congratulations on your persistence and your inspiration!
Happy Anniversary! I love your webpage!
Happy Anniversary!! Keep sharing the love of notebooks!
Awesome! Keep it up!
Bravo on your 10th. :) Your notebooks (used) look so tidy!! You should see mine!! I started in Ernest with my youngest about 31 years ago, and gradually evolved to a pre bullet journal type. I now have that system integrated in mine…however mine end up worn and messy at the end. :) Thanks for all the interesting stories, reviews, and more!! (and no, I don’t have all the journals anymore, I pulled the info. and tossed them.)
Congratulations! And Thank you for sharing your passion with all of us!!!
10 years is like 100 years in internet time. I’ve been a reader for only 3 or 4 of those years. Keep up the good work! If I win, anything sized A5 or larger would be just dandy!
Congratulations, Nifty! 10 years is quite an accomplishment!
My favorite notebooks are hardcover and have dot-grid paper, but honestly, I’d be grateful for any notebook you’d like to pass along.
Congrats on 10 years – here’s to 10 more!
I especially enjoy reading your posts on vintage notebooks and notebook-related anecdotes.
Personally, I love writing in nice leather or fabric-covered notebooks with lots of pages to fill!
Congrats on 10 Years and thank you!
I’m really proud of this page I think I’ve been following for half the time it’s been up! It’s great that you’ve reached a decade and introduced other addicts to one another!
Congratulations! I think I’ve been reading your blog for at least 8 or 9 years! And really — only $6,000? ;-)
This blog has made me so, so happy for at least seven years (I have an old computer that I stopped using around that time that has this blog bookmarked). This blog motivated me to actually FINISH a notebook for the first time in my life about five years ago. And this blog continues to be in my top 8 when I open Chrome. Thank you for posting awesomeness!
Congratulations on your blog friend, hope to see more of it.
Happy 10th! I think I found you shortly after you started your blog, sometime in late 2009. I’ve been happily enabled ever since. Anything dot grid would be perfect!
Happy 10th Anniversary! Love your blog.
I love your love of notebooks. Also, your high standards when reviewing new notebooks. No overhang of the cover for you! I never thought about that detail until you wrote about it. Thanks for a great ten years.
Congratulations! And Thank you for sharing your passion with all of us!!!
Congratulations! I love all things paper and enjoy reading about different notebooks.
I’ve been telling family for some time that I don’t have a problem with too many notebooks. My problem is that I don’t buy one! This started with my days of pen and ink sketches as I found if I bought one notebook, sketchpad, drawing paper and then wanted to use it, I’d fear I’d “mess it up” and wouldn’t have one to fall back on, so I started to by two of everything. Sad but true. I still do it to this day, but use pocket sized notebooks for everything now. Still can’t hide ’em from my Wife though. We’re working on this, BTW.
Congrats on your 10th anniversary! I’ve been reading your RSS feed daily for maybe half of that time and even bought some your recommended notebooks, based on your evaluation. OK, I bought two.
If I win, send anything. One will be fine as it will help me see that I really only need one. Not really but I can deal with it. I hope.
Congratulations! Thanks for the giveaway! If I win, I’d be grateful for any prize as long as the paper is archival quality. My first journal is already yellowing (this was before I cared about archival-quality products). I’m never using non-archival paper again!
Congrats on 10 years !
How many notebooks will you have on the 50th anniversary? Keep up the good work!
Wow, 10 years on the internet is like forever! :-) I’ve been following since the beginning and now I feel so much older!
I’d love to win a notebook that I could use as my 2019 bullet journal so if you’re giving away one of those, I’m here.
Congrats and here’s to another 10 years or more!
Congrats! Your blog is a fantastic reference for me for all things stationary related!! Thank you for sharing!
First of all, congrats on 10 years. How awesome is that? Secondly, I’d love any notebook that you’d be willing to send, because I love trying them all. Thank you for your blog, it’s a fun one to follow